[CAUT] large and rapid humidity changes!

[Fred Sturm]

Richard and Paul,
    Just to clarify, I am gathering that the problems you have been
describing are a result of a malfunctioning humidity control system, within
the overall HVAC system. Is this correct? Not the result of an HVAC system
pulling in wildly varying outdoor weather systems?
    I wonder if anyone on this list has knowledge of the building code specs
for modern HVACs. Presumably material like that is posted somewhere, but
when I looked a couple years ago I got more confused than enlightened.
    I believe there is a standard for period of time during which the entire
air volume is to be replaced with "fresh" air. Also that it is possible to
do some kind of filtration/treatment so that a fairly large percentage of
air can be re-circulated. But that there is some base percentage of outside
air that must be drawn in. The major factors paid attention to (by the
majority of engineers and administrators) are human health (disease control
in public spaces) and energy efficiency. That's my abbreviated notion. But
I'd love to have access to the real specs that the engineers are going by. I
think we need to educate ourselves, so we can talk intelligently to the
building folks, both in operations and design.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico


On 11/28/06 12:31 PM, "rwest1 at unl.edu" <rwest1 at unl.edu> wrote:

> Wim,
> 
> The picture was sent up the food chain, but I don't know how far up
> it got.  The problem was treated as an emergency, so that the
> maintenance people were right there to see what they could do.  They
> followed up for several days after the problem was "fixed", so I
> couldn't complain about their service or the desire to get things
> fixed.  The problem is beyond simple fixes, however.  The HVAC has
> been causing problems in that room for a couple years now and
> evidently continues to need periodic attention.  It's not a problem
> that occurs daily, at least not while I was there, but something gets
> screwed up every few months or so.
> 
> Money does get spent.  A year or two ago a wad was spent replacing
> the HVAC in one of the recital halls.  The emergency there was pigeon
> poop and a pile of dead birds.   You can imagine the stench that was
> starting to permeate the hall.
> 
> There is a lot of deferred maintenance on campus.  Nebraska voters
> want taxes cut, and spending reduced.  As long as that mood exists,
> they'll have foggy rooms, and pay more in the long run for what
> should be routine maintenance.  At least that's my take on the real
> cause of the problem.
> 
> Having said all that, I hope you all don't get the impression that
> the University of NE is falling apart.  There are a lot of good
> things happening there.  With all the recent budget cutting around
> the nation, I think NE fared better than some universities.  New
> buildings go up.  Renovations of old buildings get done.  It's just
> hard to know when the music school renovations will move to the top
> of the priority list.  For Paul's sake, I hope it's sooner rather
> than later.
> 
> Richard
> 
> 
> On Nov 28, 2006, at 10:49 AM, Willem Blees wrote:
> 
>> Richard
>> 
>> Was this picture shown to the higher ups at the university? I can't
>> imagine how a HVAC system that produced this kind of atmosphere inside
>> a lecture hall could be considered a non emergency problem. The
>> effects of this kind of humidity on not only the instruments, but the
>> building itself should warrant immediate action. It would seem to me
>> that putting a new HVAC system in this building would be much cheaper
>> than replacing all the wood, electrical wiring, lights, etc, not to
>> mention the audio visual equipment, screens and instruments.
>> 
>> Wim
>> 
>> 
>> Quoting "rwest1 at unl.edu" <rwest1 at unl.edu>:
>> 
>>> The room Paul is talking about has had problems for years.  The
>>> building simply needs a new HVAC system, but it's not high on the
>>> university priority list.  The room in question has gotten worse in
>>> 
>>> recent years. The complaints would go in and the facilities people
>>> would come over right away.  They were cooperative, but the problem
>>> 
>>> was bigger than a quick fix.  The problem would be okay for awhile,
>>> 
>>> but inevitably return.  I took pictures to prove how bad it got.
>>> These were taken in May, just before I retired.  It was so damp it
>>> was foggy and water was dripping from the ceiling.  Not good for the
>>> 
>>> pianos or for the electrical stuff either.
>>> 
>>> Richard West
>>> 
>>> On Nov 27, 2006, at 11:28 AM, Paul T Williams wrote:
>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Hi list,
>>>> 
>>>> We have a classroom/recital hall with a huge humidity problem.  Has
>>> 
>>>> anyone else had this problem:
>>>> 
>>>> The room seats about 200 and has a Steinway D from the late 70's
>>>> and a harpsichord.  The room can change by 30-40% or more in a
>>>> day!  Over the T-Day  weekend I put in one of those small
>>>> humidistat from Pianotek and it showed a range of 24-80%!!!  Not
>>>> only are my tunings worthless for recitals if I tune in the morning
>>> 
>>>> and the concert is in the evening (as some days, that is the only
>>> 
>>>> time the room is available),  but it has got to be wrecking havock
>>> 
>>>> on the instruments. It doesn't have a piano life saver system in
>>>> it, and I wonder how much it would help with such wild swings.  I
>>> 
>>>> and all the faculty have complained about it (apparantly for years
>>> 
>>>> prior to my getting here this year) and nothing gets done.
>>>> 
>>>> Can I do more that just cover them and go ahead and put a DC system
>>> 
>>>> on it?  They do have thick blanket style covers on them.
>>>> 
>>>> Sweating to the oldies in Lincoln....
>>>> 
>>>> Paul
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Willem Blees, RPT
>> Piano Tuner/Technician
>> School of Music
>> University of Alabama
>> Tuscaloosa, AL USA
> 
> 
>